Jean-François Copé, implicated in the Bygmalion affair, has resigned from the presidency of the UMP, effective June 15. This resignation affects the entire current leadership of the UMP.
Until the organization of an early congress in the fall, scheduled for October 12, to appoint a new leadership, the three former Prime Ministers Alain Juppé, François Fillon, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin are ensuring a collective leadership.
While the results of the municipal elections caused a big bang among the socialists, shattering the party’s organization and provoking a government change, the European elections acted as a detonator for the UMP, triggering a power struggle that began in the fall of 2012 during the internal elections for the party’s presidency.
The compromise between Copé’s followers and Fillon’s supporters did not withstand the defeat, and the “providential” Bygmalion scandal reignited the rivalry between the two factions ahead of the 2016 primary, which will decide the presidential candidate for 2017.
Furthermore, the same Copé, who tried to save his presidency until the end, hinted at this by referring to “the specter of division, seen in the greedy eye of some.”
A barely veiled dig at his Fillonist adversaries, who have been unreservedly demanding his dismissal for several days. The Azurean deputy Eric Ciotti, one of François Fillon’s lieutenants, being one of the most vocal and uncompromising: @ECiotti: The UMP must embody change; can we do it on these grounds and with these people? I do not think so. (7:52 AM – May 27, 2014)
But the story is far from over. After Jean-François Copé, attention now turns to the former president: “Who can believe that Copé and Sarkozy didn’t know?” says François Fillon.
While Eric Ciotti is at the forefront of this issue, the behavior of Christian Estrosi, the other heavyweight of the Azurean UMP, appears more nuanced and surprisingly moderate in tone:
@cestrosi · May 26: UMP militants, you’re feeling down tonight, as am I. Don’t lose hope, remain proud of our values, I stand by you.
@cestrosi · May 27 Double cultural revolution for UMP: on governance, because it doesn’t work, and on the line, because it is failing. The congress must determine the course of our formation, and no one can define it instead of the militants.
A difference in approach can be seen between the two local leaders…
On one hand, Eric Ciotti plays fully on the card of François Fillon, one of his first supporters back in 2012. Why? A simple question of consistency? Does he aim to establish himself on the national stage with ministerial responsibilities in sight?
He has the profile, training, and appropriate age and could represent one of the new faces French politics might desperately need in the future. On the other hand, Christian Estrosi had entertained the possibility of candidacy in the internal UMP presidential race in 2012 before aligning with the former prime minister, while keeping a low profile.
Does he have other cards to play? Is he considering other alliances? Has he given up on a national role to be content with his local position, likely to expand with the announced territorial reform that will lend much more responsibility to metropolises and regions, sacrificing departmental councils?
The near or very near (political) future will tell us…
